Shouldice Versus Lichtenstein Hernia Repair Techniques: A Prospective Randomized Study

Background: The objectives of this study was to compare the tension-free mesh (Lichtenstein), and the 4-layer tissue repair (Shouldice) techniques of inguinal hernia surgery and to determine to what extent doctors in a general surgical unit were able to reproduce the excellent results reported from specialist hernia centres.Methods: Patients with primary unilateral inguinal hernia were over an 18month period randomized to either the Shouldice group (experiment) or to the Lichtenstein group (control). The operating time, convalescence, hospital stay, postoperative analgesic consumption and complications, were assessed and compared.Results: There Lichtenstein group had a shorter operating time but had a higher occurrence of persistent postoperative pain compared to the Shouldice group. There was no significant difference in convalescence  between the two groups and no recurrences have been recorded in eithergroup. Conclusion: Despite Shouldice being more challenging to perform  compared to Lichtenstein, the postoperative results are comparable. Ourexperience shows that both procedures can be taught to medical officers who can perform them with relative safety, efficacy and reproducibility tosurgeons. Shouldice method being the more cost effective procedure should be encouraged in men with primary unilateral inguinal hernias.Key Words: Hernia, Lichtenstein, Shouldice, Clinical Tria

HISTOLOGICAL AND IMMUNOLOGICAL STUDIES ON THE PROTECTIVE EFFECT OF EUCALYPTUS CAMALDULENSIS AGAINST ROUNDUP-INDUCED HEPATOTOXICITY IN FROGS

Objective: Roundup (RUP) is a prominent utilized worldwide herbicide. Possible toxicity of RUP is a considerable debate. We studied the possible mode of RUP cytotoxicity and the antitoxic effects of Eucalyptus camaldulensis (EUC) in male of Bufo regularis. Methods: We were analyzed EUC extract scavenging activity and determined the bioactive compounds. In addition, we measured the lipid peroxidation (LPO), histopathological changes, and gene expression in the liver. Frogs were divided into negative control, EUC, RUP, and combined RUP and EUC treated (RUP+EUC) groups. Data were represented as mean±SD and considered statistically significant when p<0.05. Results: Treatment of animals with RUP increased LPO and numerous pathological changes with an increased number of melanomacrophages (MMCs). In addition, RUP-treated group revealed downregulation of different genes associated with immunity and mitochondrial activity. On the other side, RUP+EUC-treated group showed restoration of the normal hepatic structure and ultrastructural integrity for a considerable extent. The current study evidenced immune system dysregulation through recombinant activating gene 1 downregulation and overexpression of CX chemokine receptor type-4 and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I. Conclusion: The current data represent a direct evidence for the toxicity of RUP that experimentally verified by the histopathological changes, elevated LPO, and imbalanced gene expression. Moreover, aggregation of MMCs pointed to the faced immunological challenges due to RUP toxicity. We are emphasizing that uncontrolled use of RUP is potentially hazardous to the living organisms and man. The application of natural antagonists such a plant extract (e.g., EUC) can reduce biological toxicity

Heavy metal speciation and their accumulation in sediments of Lake Burullus, Egypt

Several sediment samples in Lake Burullus have been affected by the discharges of heavy metals through different drains. The study aimed to analyze the chemical speciation of these metals. In particular, the chemical forms of Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn in sediments collected in spring season were studied using a sequential chemical extraction method. In general, all the elements recorded highest concentrations in the area near the discharge point. The data indicated that, the sediments were under a wide variety of environmental conditions ranging from oxic to fully anoxic conditions. Owing a wide variety of grain sizes and organic matter, these metals showed the order of abundance: Fe > Mn > Zn > Cu > Cd > Pb. Significant correlations between iron with clay, organic carbon and manganese concentrations were calculated as (r=0.685, 0.581 and 0.610, P= 0.05), respectively. This gives an idea about association of iron and manganese as main compositions of clays. In the mean time, it showed insignificant relation with total carbonate and all phosphorus forms. The metal speciation characterizes the degree to which they are potentially labile or bioavailability. It gives different fraction ratios depending on binding and sediment origin.Key words: Heavy metals, chemical speciation, sediments, Burullus, Lake

Chronic Ileocecal Intussusception Secondary to Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma

Chronic intussusception is a distinct clinical entity which is unfortunately poorly recognized due to its atypical presentation. A 5½ year old female  patient presented with a 5 month history of abdominal pain associated with occasional vomiting, anorexia and progressive weight loss. 5 days prior to admission she developed loose, non-mucoid, non-blood stained stool associated with refusal to feed and irritability. Systemic examination, an abdominal ultrasound and abdominal radiograph were non-contributory.During treatment for malnutrition and dehydration she was noted to clinically improve, however, 6 days post-admission she developed  abdominal pain, a palpable sausage-shaped abdominal mass, and currant-jelly stool. Emergency laparotomy revealed an ileocecal  intussusception with oedematous nonviable, aperistaltic terminal ileum and mobile cecum, a cecal mass and mesenteric lymphadenopathy was found. We performed a right hemicolectomy with an ileocolic anastomosis and mesenteric lymph node sampling. Histology results revealed the cecal  mass as a lymphoproliferative neoplasm with a diagnostic consideration of intermediate to large cell Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma; and reactive  hyperplasia of mesenteric lymph nodes. There is need for a highindex of suspicion in children with non-specific abdominal symptoms for which no cause can be found. Further, all suspicious masses should haveimmunohistological histological evaluation.Key Words: Chronic Ileocecal Intussusception, Non Hodgkins Lymphom

Leptin, insulin like growth factor-1 and thyroid profile in a studied sample of Egyptian children with Down syndrome

Background: Several mechanisms have been suggested for obesity in Down syndrome. Aim of the study: Assessment of serum levels of leptin, insulin like growth factor-I (IGF-I), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxin (FT4) in a prepubertal Egyptian sample of children with DS compared to their age and sex matched healthy controls and sibs of some of them.Subjects and methods: A prospective case control study was conducted on 80 children, classified as follows: Groups I & II: enrolled 20 cases with DS for each, sibs were studied only for group I, Group III: 20 healthy siblings of group I, and Group IV: 20 healthy controls. Anthropometric measurements, serum leptin, IGF-1, TSH, and FT4 assessment using enzyme linked immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA) were carried out for all studied children.Results: DS children whether with studied sibs or without studied sibs had significantly higher mean values of leptin levels compared to sibs of group I & IV (P = 0.0001 for all). Meanwhile, mean values of IGF-I showed statistically insignificant differences between all studied groups (p> 0.05 for all). Studied DS children whether with studied sibs or without studied sibs had significantly higher mean values of TSH levels compared to sibs of group I and controls (P = 0.0001 for all). Mean values of FT4 were significantly higher in enrolled DS without their studied sibs compared to sibs of group I (p= 0.01), while mean values of FT4 were significantly lower in sibs of group I compared to controls (p= 0.001).Conclusion: Serum leptin levels were significantly higher in studied DS children compared to both studied sibs and healthy controls and they were also positively correlated with BMI in studied DS children and their sibs highlighting a possible role of body fat% and leptin values in the pathogenesis of obesity in DS children.Keywords: Leptin; IGF-I; TSH; FT4; Obesity; Down syndrom

BACTEC MGIT 960 TM system for screening of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex among cattle

Bovine tuberculosis remains a disease of economic and public health importance in developing countries. The largest number of new cases of tuberculosis usually occurs in South-East Asia region and Africa. This study was aimed to evaluate the recent technique (BACTEC MGIT 960 TM system) for screening of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex among cattle in Egypt. From the 1180 cattle examined in three different Governorates (El-Sharkia, El-Gharbia and El-Monefeia) by single intradermal tuberculin test, 29 animals (2.46%) were positive reactors. The post mortem examination of the positive reactors showed that 22 animals (75.9%) had visible lesions [respiratory form (31.0%), digestive form (13.8%), mixed form (20.7%) and generalized form (10.3%)], while seven (24.1%) did not show visible lesions. The results of isolation and identification using conventional culture method (Lowenstein- Jensen medium) were 22 mycobacterial isolates (75.9%), 20 (68.97%) Mycobacterium bovis and 2 (6.9%) unidentified slow growth. The BACTEC MGIT 960 TM system was used for recovery of Mycobacteria and compared with conventional culture method (Lowenstein-Jensen medium). The recovery rate of BACTEC MGIT 960 TM system was 82.8%, while that of Lowenstein-Jensen medium was 75.9%. The mean time for detection of Mycobacteria was 17.8 ± 0.9 days and 46.5 ± 0.4 days for BACTEC MGIT 960 TM system and Lowenstein-Jensen medium, respectively while the contamination rate with BACTEC MGIT 960 TM system was 6.9% and 10.3% in Lowenstein-Jensen medium.Key words: Bovine tuberculosis, tuberculin test, Lowenstein-Jensen medium, BACTEC system

Deep learning model for fully automated breast cancer detection system from thermograms

Breast cancer is one of the most common diseases among women worldwide. It is considered one of the leading causes of death among women. Therefore, early detection is necessary to save lives. Thermography imaging is an effective diagnostic technique which is used for breast cancer detection with the help of infrared technology. In this paper, we propose a fully automatic breast cancer detection system. First, U-Net network is used to automatically extract and isolate the breast area from the rest of the body which behaves as noise during the breast cancer detection model. Second, we propose a two-class deep learning model, which is trained from scratch for the classification of normal and abnormal breast tissues from thermal images. Also, it is used to extract more characteristics from the dataset that is helpful in training the network and improve the efficiency of the classification process. The proposed system is evaluated using real data (A benchmark, database (DMR-IR)) and achieved accuracy = 99.33%, sensitivity = 100% and specificity = 98.67%. The proposed system is expected to be a helpful tool for physicians in clinical use

Prevalence of intestinal parasites among the population of the Gaza Strip, Palestine

Intestinal parasitic diseases in Gaza Strip are a significant health problem. The main aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of parasitic infection among patients in the five governorates of the Gaza Strip. A crosssectional parasitological survey was conducted on 600 patients. Stool specimens were examined microscopically for the presence of parasite eggs or larvae/cysts per wet amount by the saline iodine and formol-ether concentration method. Of 600 subjects examined, 245 (40.8%) were infected with one or more intestinal parasites. Entamoeba histolytica/dispar and Giardia lamblia were the most prevalent parasites amongst the population (28.8%),(9.5%). Female patients demonstrated a higher prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections (42.7%) than males (39.0%). However, this difference was not significant (p> 0.05). According to occupation, the rate of infection was highest among farmers (56.0%), followed by employers (44.2%) with laborers showing the lowest rate (30.17%). These differences in occupational prevalence were found to be statistically significant (p< 0.05). The present study demonstrates that intestinal protozoan infections are still a public health problem in the Gaza strip, with Entamoeba and Giardia infections being most common. Therefore, it is necessary to develop effective prevention and control strategies, including health education and environmental sanitation improvement

Salford postgraduate annual research conference (SPARC) 2012 proceedings

These proceedings bring together a selection of papers from the 2012 Salford Postgraduate Annual Research Conference (SPARC). They reflect the breadth and diversity of research interests showcased at the conference, at which over 130 researchers from Salford, the North West and other UK universities presented their work. 21 papers are collated here from the humanities, arts, social sciences, health, engineering, environment and life sciences, built environment and business